Cyrena--

Yes, sad to say, you are right.  There are people who are afraid to step out of the spotlight, afraid to stop moving.  But we all need time to reassess and figure out where we are going and why.  I’m surprised somewhat that Oprah doesn’t recognize this because it’s actually what her “brand” espouses for others, us mere mortals.  (Yeah, I’m afraid Jimmy would kick the bucket after a few days with oprah.)

It’s wonderful that she is charitable, but she seems to make value judgements with each act that ultimately say I am right.  All of this is ego, as you said, and buddhism would help her greatly and help her realize a better vision for her good works.

The incident you mentioned was for her Obama fundraiser and the person she tried to dislocate from the hotel was an attorney getting married.  We all realize that when you get money and power and celebrity in this country, you can intimidate and demand...but you shouldn’t. 

How many people would actually want to live Oprah’s life?  I wouldn’t--I couldn’t handle the constant demands, the public existence, the dissapearance of my real self.  She’s lived this way a long time....
Dave Chappelle turned down that money (she had him on her show and she tsked, tsked him) and fled to Africa because he knew what all that entailed and he wanted to keep his freedom as he defined it. 

If Oprah felt truly loved and if she truly loved, I don’t think she’d be so caught up in all this stuff.

#112381 by Bill Blackolive

It’s her actions not her fortunes we disdain. Cyrena disclosed how Oprah kicked out a newly wed couple. There was another disclosure on how she has established a scholarship fund that mainly benefits black women who have it already made financially.

I had mentioned her lack loyalty to the home team when it comes helping abused girls in the States.

#112231 by mackTN

MackTN,

Thanks for the kind words. And yes, I suspect you’re absolutely right that Oprah could do with a break. But,I’m not sure she could handle it. There ARE people in the world like that. You suggested that she might study Buddhism, and I agree that it is overwhelmingly beneficial. But, with ANYTHING like that, one has to be able to get past whatever it is about themselves, to actually get to that other thing, whatever it might be that works for them. And, Oprah has not been able to do that, nor do I believe that she can. She’s tried everything, and nothing ‘works’ for her, unless it has her in a spotlight. And, the only reason that this is so recognizable, is because….she’s NOT ALONE!!! This is like an emotional disease that is so rampant within the society now, and we don’t know that it affects so many others, because they aren’t Oprah.

But, it does. Sadly I know many people like Oprah, minus the big bucks and the attention that she garners. But, they are just as miserable. They try everything, diets, travel, social clubs, religion, acupuncture, etc. But, no matter where they go, or what they do, they’re still stuck with themselves, and so…there you have it. Nothing is never enough.  So, Oprah can’t take a break. If it would mean not having the attention, she simply cannot do it. She just can’t be still, or be with herself.

As an aside, Oprah lives in the same ‘general area’ of Southern Calif. I say general area, because I don’t want to give even the slightest impression that it is the same socio-economic environment. It isn’t. For me, it was a return home, after living in many locations throughout my own career. And, for that reason, maybe I appreciate it more now. But, my point is that the area DOES provide for the peace and tranquility for anyone who actually did want that. I’m not sure Oprah does.

Now, for a tabloid sort of an example of ‘the real Oprah”….This happened maybe 3 or 4 months ago, here in the general locale. A local woman was planning her wedding, and had reserved some space for her out of town guests at one of the local hotels. Oprah was planning one of her own many events, (MAYBE it was the fundraiser for Barack Obama, but please don’t pin me down to that, because it could have been something else). And, maybe that’s not important. The point is that Oprah wanted that hotel for HER guests. (the events were planned for the same weekend). So, I probably don’t have to tell you what happened. Oprah told the hotel proprietors to simply have the bride move her party elsewhere. And, I’m going to ‘guess’ that this happens frequently enough, and that normally, the persons involved simply do whatever is required/demanded, in order to accommodate Oprah.

But, for whatever the reason, (and I only caught parts of the story on the local news) this particular individual wasn’t willing to give in quite so easily, (one can presume that she’d been planning this first wedding for quite some time, and only planned to do this once.) So, she was miffed, and it came to the attention of the community. I honesty don’t know how it was resolved, seeing as how I wasn’t invited to either event, and so it certainly did not concern me personally. (my own weekend guests are split up according to generation. The old folks get to stay at a nice hotel, and the kids have to bunk down with me.) So, that’s just an example of how it is with her.

I should add that she DOES provide some scholarships for African-American college women, but they are limited to those schools traditionally attended by upper-class African Americans. IOW, girls that would attend anyway.

So, your suggestions for her are great.  (though I don’t know if it would be fair to sic her on Jimmy Carter...he’s an old guy) It’s just not likely to be something she’d ever allow herself to do. Sad really. But…such as it is.

cyrena--

you are so wise. 

As this is an article about oprah that invites an opinion, it’s perfectly legitimate to speak one’s mind.  And since oprah opened this school with her usual gusto and hype, it’s perfectly reasonable to participate in the dialogue and analyze the text, context, and subtext. 

Oprah believes what she does is right and when it turns out wrong or doesn’t go as planned, she takes it quite personally (ego).  She does things on such a grand scale that actually these acts are bound to have failures because she can’t control them even though she tries.  I suggest she study Buddhism and learn how to give and let go of it, to learn how to give without hoopla and learn on how to give on a small scale.  We all suffer these flaws, but oprah is constantly in a mirror looking a her reflection (the press), while the rest of us have only a few friends and family members reflecting our images.

Oprah needs to get off her stage for awhile, don’t you think?  Take a few years off, do some reflecting, run around with Jimmy Carter and put up drywall.  Spend a year in a monastery (and refrain from calling in a videographer because you suspect this year of reflection would be a terrific show and experience you could share with the rest of us).

Terrific she could build a school, but why not just select some girls for scholarships?  Build the school and walk away instead of decorating it with all the things you never had as a kid, and all the books you never read, and all the time you never spent.  In a sense, this abuse happened to her again, since she is actually the school itself.

oprah, take some time off.

@ #112168 by Robert Giacobbe

No need to condemn Oprah she does well enough on her own to show her smugness and self satisfaction.

Oprah is also in the news this week for something else: She is dropping the book THE EDUCATION OF LITTLE TREE from her recommended books list.

There are a lot of racial issues to deal with in looking at this decision ... to many to go into detail about here (including white, black, Native American Indian and mixed-race Indian-white/black/brown issues.)

The background of the book’s author is problematic. He was in the Klan and was a segregationist speechwriter for George Wallace.

However, as I remember, the writer of the song “Amazing Grace” was once the captain of slave ships, until he had a change of heart.

Anyone who has read THE EDUCATION OF LITTLE TREE must conclude the author had such a change of heart in later years.

The fact that some full-blood reservation-raised Native American Indians have a bias against mixed-race people with Indian in them is another issue.

I highly recommend THE EDUCATION OF LITTLE TREE ... and I think Oprah should reconsider her decision.

Background and related info on this in the two articles noted below:

“Who is a Cherokee? Many Americans have Indians in the family tree”

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle. asp?articleID=21743

- - -

“Columnist’s article on Native Americans, Cherokee, needs more insight”

http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle. asp?articleID=3743

@ #112058 by cyrena

“I don’t see any meanspirited diatribes here, nor do I see any accusations of Oprah’s intent to be meanspirited. So, I would clearly take issue with this statement/accusation. Oprah’s ‘intent’ was not mean-spirited, but selfish. It’s all about HER. And, nothing noted here is mean-spirited either. It’s simply the reality.”

There is no way to be diplomatic about Oprah, nor do I see it as necessary. <i>Per vox propio,/i> Oprah by her own voice declared that the girls of Africa were morally superior to those in America, who were less deserving of her consideration. There is no need to equivocate or temper one’s impression of her. She was no loyalty to the home team.

#112054 by Paracelsus

• I wonder if Oprah knows about the fluoride in the water which excels in inducing cretinism. Does she understand the collapse of families in general, that induces society to produce the overly directed child of the educational system?

Well, Paracelsus,

That pretty much was my point, though I was trying to suggest it more diplomatically, having been attacked as a hater and apparently ‘jealous’ of Oprah.

But, to answer you question, (though I’m sure that it is a rhetorical question). NO!! Oprah doesn’t know ANY of this stuff, and she’s made no attempts to find any of this stuff out. Oprah is not a product of an ‘educational system’ herself, not even an imperfect one. In other words, Oprah is no ‘deep thinker’ nor is she the least bit concerned about educating herself….at least not beyond the world of celebrityhood, and she’s not even as smart as most celebrities. 

Now, you mentioned earlier, the whole role of the NGO’S, and it’s a subject that I’ve tried to do some work on myself. Just how ‘beneficial’ are they? Well, it depends. I believe that they are well intentioned, but I don’t believe that they always do good work, simply because they are (at least those that are founded by Westerners) basically without the knowledge of the ‘culture’ that they are attempting to assist. In other words, neither The US government, or the Western NGO’s, or Oprah, can decide to export any brand of anything, without the consent of the people they’re trying to export it to. We cannot ‘export’ democracy. We cannot decide to simply force our own legal system on other countries or nations, and Oprah can’t just go over a start a few schools in South Africa, (or anywhere else) and put her rules in place, such as she has attempted to do there.

She MAY have been able to effect some success at the endeavor, IF she’d taken the time to study the culture, and the politics, and the way that things are done there, based on what THEY want, not what SHE wants, or thinks they need. And no, she wouldn’t have been able to do that on her own, because she’s not intellectually capable of that. BUT, if she really wanted to ‘help’, then she could have consulted those experts that DO have some idea.

And, this isn’t just an “Oprah” crime, but part of the overall mentality of Americans who believe themselves to be superior to all cultures and all other peoples, based on their OWN values, which aren’t necessarily the SAME values for all peoples of the world. That’s not to say that those who CAN offer humanitarian assistance – SHOULDN’T, but we need to question whether or not we’re actually ‘offering’ something for those we claim to be ‘offering’ it to, or if we’re doing it for other reasons, and in arrogance. Such is the case with Oprah. And, like I said, it’s not just her, because it’s a symptom of the American mentality, to decide what’s best for others, without consulting them.

So no. Oprah doesn’t know any of this stuff, and she’s not likely to find out, because there is no ‘dollar amount’ or “celebrity quotient” that can be attached to such knowledge. So, nothing ever goes below the surface with her. It’s all theatrics and drama, and whatever garners the superficial attention of those she can influence. Sadly, there are many that she can if fact influence. Such as it is. And, it IS sad, because she actually COULD do some good, if she would just take the time to learn some things. But, that would require that she shut up long enough to listen to somebody else, and that’s not gonna happen either.

#111989 by cyrena

“And if she’s to be excused for all of this, (because she was abused as a child) why doesn’t she start a program for abused girls and adults right here? I mean, who better to ‘help’ than those who are supporting her to begin with? (the millions that listen to her and buy the stuff that she promotes for the corporations?)”

I remember a while ago, Oprah had conducted a survey of sorts among children in America. She asked them what they wanted, and they replied that wanted a bigger toy of some sort. In other words they were higher up on Maslow’s pyramid of needs, but not much higher up. They were children with relatively full stomachs, who seemed to resemble the children of a Willy Wonka tour of the chocolate factory.

It is the wont of well traveled and wealthy people to say when interviewed that the people in all these poor countries are so humble and kind. That they are politer than the average American, who is rougher and cruder as well as expecting more out of life, and out of them and without adulation.

As someone who has visited northern Mexico I can attest to the grace, obsequiousness, and solicitude of the poorer classes in a third world setting. I think this is what causes so many liberal bleeding hearts to be so overcome with compassion for illegal aliens. “They are so nice, unlike some Americans I know, who are so rude and ungrateful!”

As to Oprah Winfrey, American children lacked the pathos and trueness of cause, that an African child could evoke from her heart. Not even the most pitiful American ghetto could produce one stunning, poignant child-like appeal to the heart than that of all Africa could produce.

Perhaps minor malnutrition combined with a lack of earnestness from an overweight black girl fed a diet of soda pop and crisps showed Oprah that the cause here was a hopeless one.

Yes, Oprah, is an emotional creature, but she seems to want to help an African girl child with no hope at all than an American child who seems to have some expectations even she seems spoiled and ill mannered. I wonder if Oprah knows about the fluoride in the water which excels in inducing cretinism. Does she understand the collapse of families in general, that induces society to produce the overly directed child of the educational system?

Of course our system produces people, and children without passion. No one wants to invest start up money in an enterprise filled with dim eyed automatons.

Oprah does not want to look into why we are producing a generation of soma eaters. She wants to run away to Africa.

#112035 by THE MANGEMEISTER on 11/06 at 9:40 pm

That should say Oprah’s power far exceeds her intellect.

============================

Managemeister,
This is so true, and it’s exactly what I mean. That’s what makes her so dangerous.

However, that ‘power’ would be gone in a flash, if she ever said or did anything that her corporate sponsors did not approve.

Therein lies the ‘power’. Such as it is.

That should say Oprah’s power far exceeds her intellect.

Well said cyrena.Oprah’s power far exeeds her intellect.

#111970 by Deborah
#111906 by Marjorie L. Swanson on 11/06 at 6:31 am
• Wow you sure got a lot of hate directed towards someone that did try to do something good. She didn’t do what YOU think she should have done so it’s all about HER. Seems to me it’s all about YOU.

No Marjorie,
It’s not about what I want her to do, since I rarely paid any attention to Oprah, until she became what is in fact a disastrous influence, rather than a harmless influence over the housewives who watched her show.

And, I’m tired of people throwing the ‘hate’ word around, when it’s really only a matter of speaking reality. Nobody said anything about ‘hating’ Oprah. I don’t ‘hate’ Oprah, and if she wanted to blow her own money on the nine dogs that she has, and start a school for them, it wouldn’t bother me in the least.

So, it’s not about what we WANT Oprah to do, (other than maybe to just shut up) but rather about (at least in my own case) the harm that she brings to the naïve with her very distorted values.

And if she’s to be excused for all of this, (because she was abused as a child) why doesn’t she start a program for abused girls and adults right here? I mean, who better to ‘help’ than those who are supporting her to begin with? (the millions that listen to her and buy the stuff that she promotes for the corporations?)

Do I WANT her to do that? Well, like I said, I don’t particularly CARE what she does, since there are those who continue to do that important work anyway, without needing the ‘fanfare’ or public attention. (if anything, we’d prefer to avoid it).

• Your diatribe is meanspirited. Oprah’s intent was not.

I don’t see any meanspirited diatribes here, nor do I see any accusations of Oprah’s intent to be meanspirited. So, I would clearly take issue with this statement/accusation. Oprah’s ‘intent’ was not mean-spirited, but selfish. It’s all about HER. And, nothing noted here is mean-spirited either. It’s simply the reality.

And, for others who would even suggest that anyone of any substance/integrity would be ‘jealous’ of her ‘success’, I worry. I worry that anyone would see Oprah as a “success’ when she’s got these billions of dollars, and still has to spend so much of her life crying. (or at least telling us that she cries). Why is Oprah so unhappy? Why, in the midst of all those billions, is Oprah herself, still so damn NEEDY of so much attention?

I think that would be the more relevant question, at least for anyone who chooses to hold her up as a role model.

Meantime, the ability of anyone to see through the surface of such superficiality, and call it what it is, does not equal ‘hate’. It just makes us smarter than the average girl or guy that can’t.

Does anyone ‘fault’ Oprah for –doing good-? Well, I don’t. I do however fault her for –doing harm- and she’s done plenty of that as well. Harm that she would not be able to accomplish, if she were NOT so influential. Harm that wasn’t harm when she first started her career. Now of course, it has become exactly that, for all of the people who take Oprah as gospel, and are incapable of seeing though the superficiality.

The whole Oprah situation has provoked me to write the general game plan for Africa.

It seems that when the white establishment of South Africa stepped aside, they were able to get a wrecking crew government in with black faces. The more had been done to harm the black people under ANC rule than could have even been imagined by the most vicious white apartheid supporters. What happened was that a white authoritarian regime by a black authoritarian regime. The aristocratic establishment cared little for the white middle class that had been liquidated by the new regime. Their aim is not to advance the white race as one would think, but to impose a system that would insure a feudalistic government. The gold, platinum, and diamond mines will never change ownership. The giant mining cos. can just as well hire mercenaries. The chaos will go a long way toward reducing the black population of southern Africa. Zimbabwe will have a huge reduction in numbers as well. In 10 or 20 years genocidal leadership in black face will have so weakened their population by TB, AIDS, and starvation, that their will be plenty of resources to by up at fire sale prices. What these NWO types like to do is set up Judas goat governments to lead people astray. People like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton will make hey off of “racial incidents” without questioning the biowarfare origins of AIDS or the deceptive sterilizations of African women through “vaccination programs”.

Oprah Winfrey will not really solve the problems of black girls in Africa until she unmasks the agendas of the puppet leaders of Africa.

How about Oprah Winfrey?

May she be considered along w/Jimmy Carter for a Cabinet post. We so need to repair our relations and Im not sure we could do better then her.

Wow you sure got a lot of hate directed towards someone that did try to do something good. She didn’t do what YOU think she should have done so it’s all about HER. Seems to me it’s all about YOU. And in what universe does money and counseling eliminate the problems that someone carries with them for the rest of their life when they were abused as a child? Are only poor people that were abused worthy of concern?

I don’t watch the Oprah show and don’t follow her career. I don’t understand someone who seems to have quite an interest in the woman putting her down for trying to do something good for someone else. Your diatribe is meanspirited. Oprah’s intent was not.

Eugene,
You’ve had it right all along. It’s ALL about Oprah, and ONLY about Oprah, ALL of the time.
I’m really sorry about her being sexually abused as a child. However, I feel dreadful about ANY child subjected to such abuse. I’d like to believe that Oprah would have somehow resolved those issues by now. (billions of dollars could certainly have provided adequate counseling).

Instead, all I ever really hear about (or from her) is that she’s walking or crawling around her house crying, or sitting on one of her toilets - crying, (and having to call Maya Angelou while she’s crying)to help bring her out of her despair.

Now, if she was really all that involved with these issues, one would recognize that she doesn’t have to go to South Africa to find them. Matter of fact,last month, (October) was “Domestic Violence Awareness Month”, which of course had to be ‘shared’ with Breast Cancer Awareness Month. So, Oprah talks a lot about Breast Cancer, (there’s tons of money in that) but if she’s ever acknowleged Domestic violence here in the US of A, (inner cities included) than I guess I must have missed it. Again, all I ever hear about is...well, HER.

So yeah, her own learning curve is a flat line, and she’s contributed to the ‘dumbing down’ of a large portion of Americans over the past 2 decades. Now THAT’S something to cry about, but it doesn’t seem to stop her. So, maybe she likes it. (crying that is, or being shaken to her core) Now that I think about it, what core? Oprah has a core?

Other ‘fans’ have recently gushed on about how it was OPRAH who was responsible for, and the ‘genius’ behind launching the new Musical, based on The Color Purple. Now, WHY isn’t that a suprise? (at least to me)

It’s not you know. Because...it’s ALL about Oprah. Could it be that her popularity as the world’s favorite diva is winding down? Now THAT would shake her to her core. (if she has one) Matter of fact, I suspect that’s why she put The Color Purple back on the marquee. She actually did do an excellent job/part in that film. I’m thinking she should have stopped there. Then she wouldn’t have to be trying to revive it to try put herself back in the stage/screen.

Meantime, what makes her think that the girls in South Africa are particularly interested in yoga? Maybe more importantly, why didn’t she build the science labs in her OWN houses? And, why has she also built A SECOND school in SA? Do ya reckon she’s just sort of overlooked New Orleans, or maybe Oakland, or maybe a host of other places that don’t have schools or a functioning educational system? Guess not.

So, with all due respect to your suggestions that her ‘intentions’ are good, somehow I’m finding that hard to believe. No doubt they are good ‘intentions’ that appear to be (at least to me), ALSO – ALL ABOUT HER!!

Anyway, nice of her to apologize to the parents at that press conference. Why do I still think it’s all about HER? Has she ever heard of donating ‘anonymously”?

That’s what people with money AND class/sophistication, would do. Not Oprah though.

Bless her poor little country heart and mind.